Sailing club members were out enjoying a day of boating in the Gulf of Naples, off the coast of Italy, when they noticed something they couldn’t explain. A small dog was alone in the wide waters a mile from shore, swimming toward them as he tried to remain afloat in the crashing waves.
The animal’s origins were unknown at the time, but it was evident that he needed to be rescued.
CREDIT: RYCC Savoia
“We approached, we were sailing, and maneuvering was difficult,” Massimiliano Cappa, the club’s director, told La Repubblica. “His legs were nearly immobilized by the cold, and he was plainly fatigued. He trembled and wept.”
The incredible rescue is captured on video, with the dog approaching the vessel and staring up with forlorn eyes before being pulled from the freezing water. The gang rushes to his aid, quickly drying his wet fur and cradling him close to their bodies for warmth. They then requested a rescue boat to return him to land.
As the gang hurried back to dry ground, the fatigued dog remained calm, albeit the question that no doubt lingered on everyone’s mind was how the puppy got up adrift at sea.
They’d have their response soon.
CREDIT: RYCC Savoia
Once arriving on land, rescuers discovered that a dog named Noodle had gone overboard during a ferry voyage from Naples to the island of Ischia, approximately 20 miles west, earlier that morning. Mario Di Meglio, the puppy’s owner, claims he was taking his new pet home when she slipped free of the leash and went overboard.
According to Meglio of La Repubblica, he immediately warned the boat crew, but they refused to stop, claiming that Noodle had already perished.
Fortunately, the sailors discovered him after approximately half an hour.
CREDIT: RYCC Savoia
Since then, Noodle has been reunited with Meglio and is said to be doing well. Meanwhile, the boat company has allegedly apologized and begun an internal investigation into the event.
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